As DJ’s are getting tired of carrying two trolleys of vinyl records, more and more are getting into the digital mixing thorugh various techniques. The digital age is hard to avoid, which I guess is a part of the idea of Gorman’s ‘Elements’ project on his own label Mikrowave.

The releases in the ‘Elements’ series consists of four tracks on the vinyl version, but climbs up to 17 tracks on the digital side. All patterns and parts from the original works are released together with the original versions, which will be greatful for the digital DJ who also want to manipulate the tracks he or she is playing.

Zuni’s ‘Hoodwinked’ get’s a treatment from Gorman on the A1, which is a really tripping track with clear and raw elements. The tricky melody fits perfectly to the stressful background melody, reminding me of Tadeo’s work on Apnea and the other Net28 labels. The track evolves into different states all the time, which gives it an more direct feel and less archetectural arrangement, combining both the bluntness of a groove without a melody as well as bringing in more focus on the melody than on the beat – a hard combination which Kevin does with precision.

The ‘Cyclic Beats’ on the A2 side is not what one could guess, just a beat going on without any structure – it’s more a tool with the basic elements from the original ‘Cycle’ track on B2. The melodic work is really present, combined with the steady beat and sparodical tomtoms, the futuristic feel is always present.

‘Insomnia’ is my favorite track on the release. The hard trasistor rhythm combined with low key drums and percussion brings a Sähkö feel to the track – while remaining true to the more modern sound of both Kevin and other producers. That hard hitting rimshot is really groovy and fits very nicely to the rest of the track.

‘Cyclic’ on B2 ends the release with full exposure, the melodies combine each other in a way that brings out a softer side of the record. Eternal minimalistic sounds that has a Planet E-feel to it – nice!